


Upon Sewers and Cars

by The_Reading_Dragon_Rider



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Bay Movies), Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: April is a ninja, Mikaela Banes is April O'Neil, Mikaela is a ninja
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23036995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Reading_Dragon_Rider/pseuds/The_Reading_Dragon_Rider
Summary: Inspired by Blue10spades' story "Amnesia"Mikaela Banes hasn't always gone by that name.  Just like Colin Banes wasn't always listed as her father.  Her father was a scientist that worked with something called mutagen and her name was April O'Neil.  Ripped away from the turtles because she was sent to live with one of her mother's brothers and adopted by him while given a name change.  She then got a new friend by the name of Sam Witwicky and help aliens that call themselves Transformers or Autobots to defend the world.  Mikaela has had an interesting life filled with mutants and aliens; now it's about to be filled even more.
Relationships: Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & April O'Neil & Raphael (TMNT), Mikaela Banes & Ironide, Mikaela Banes & Leonardo & Michelangelo & Donatello & Raphael
Comments: 16
Kudos: 40





	1. Timeline changes

**Author's Note:**

> This is just an introduction to what I've changed in the story and details of what happened before that I want to clarify.

Mikaela Banes wasn't always her name. Her original name was April O'Neil. Now, the story line is going to be based on Michael Bay's TMNT but April is aged down to, like, fifteen (the turtles will be that age physically and mentally, having aged up rapidly with the mutagen. When April is seven, the guys will be too. The lab "accident" takes place when April is three.) with Vernon being her Uncle Robert's (brother to April's mother) friend who doesn't tell anyone what happened, not even Robert. I have it where April met them five years before the movie takes place. This makes April seven when she meets them. I imagine the meeting happening as she got lost after leaving her Uncle's apartment and, upon being chased by someone, finds an open manhole cover. She climbs down to hide in the sewers and, upon once again getting lost, meets Master Splinter. He recognizes her and takes her back to meet the boys. After allowing them to get to know each other a bit, Splinter takes her back to the surface. Luckily, it was her uncle's neighborhood and she was able to get back home safely. She often disappeared to the sewers after that, only telling her Uncle that she was visiting friends. After a while, Splinter just taught her the art of ninjutsu alongside the boys, all of them growing to be master ninja's.

Cue the movie, only with April having more information on what happened and Shredder only finds the lair by a small tracker snuck onto April. There is another surprise with April but let's leave that as a surprise. After the Sacks building is destroyed, Uncle Robert (none the wiser to what April was involved in) decides to send her to her other uncle as New York is no longer safe in his opinion. I'm going to say that the movie takes place in March, during Spring break. Unaware of the fact that, upon being informed of the move and begging from the kids, Splinter also uses the time to acquire another set of each the boys weapons and a tessen set to give to April so she can continue to train with all of them. She hides them in a softball bag among bats. By that time, each of the boys had a gift for her too; Donnie had made shell-cells and gifted her one (the phones could work halfway across the world), Leo gave her a book on the code of bushido, Raph gave her a drawing of everyone, and Mikey gave her a skateboard he spray painted for her. Master Splinter, however, gave her a gift too; it was a mask of her own, in black. The months passed and at the end of June, Richard reveals something he was working on: he had adoption papers for her. Originally, it was going to be him but with her moving to South Gate in California, he arranged for his brother to adopt her. Along with the adoption, he also had her name changed to Mikaela Banes (Mikaela after her grandmother and Banes as her mother's maiden name). He claimed it was because she had been getting alot of attention as a result of her father's accident and, with her name in the newspapers during that time, he wanted to give her a new name so she could start over fresh.

April, now Mikaela, cried but decided to go with it; she would let everyone in South Gate believe her to be Uncle Colin's daughter, long lost or whatever. If they wanted to decide to change her name without _talking_ to her, then she would play that role. She wouldn't let anyone in until she knew she could trust them. So she goes to California and, instead of Sam seeing her around since they were kids (obviously), he sees her as a new high school student. Cue senior year and the Transformers movie. (She learned alot about cars since moving in with Uncle Colin so that stays the same and instead of threatening to send her back to juvie/messing with Colin's payroll, Simmons(?) threatens to reveal to "interested parties" where she disappeared to. Sam is curious about that and is curious how she learned to pick handcuffs. She doesn't say where but it _may or may not_ have been Raph after he found a pair to practice on and taught his little sister.) Now, after the movie, she and Sam live on base with the Autobots as civilian representatives when the situation calls for it. Her and Sam decide to not get together and Mikaela doesn't reveal her training while planning to practice at night; she just needs to get the perfect place set up. And that's where my story picks up.


	2. Chapter One

_"When can you come back angel cakes? We all miss you."_

_"I don't know, you guys. How are you all doing anyways? How is Master Splinter?"_

_"We're fine April. Master Splinter is fine too. Been just as hard on us as always in training. Sent Mikey to the Hashi for… something. What did you even do?"_

_"Nothing that you can prove!"_

_"..."_

_"What is it April?"_

_"I… it's nice hearing my original name. I know my Uncle Robert meant well by giving me a new first name and his last so people wouldn't harass me about the lab accident but… I miss it."_

_"Hey… it's okay to miss it. It was something you had that could connect you to your dad."_

_"I know. I need to go. I could just hear the scolding Master Splinter would give me for missing my training."_

_"Alright, talk again soon?"_

_"Definitely soon. Night Leo, Don, Raph, Mikey."_

_"Night April."_

_"Good night April."_

_"Good night princess."_

_"Night Angel Face!"_

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was in the middle of the night. Most people and Autobots were asleep or in recharge; only a few were awake to keep an eye and ear out for intruders. Mikaela knew this and spent that time at night devoted to making sure her "ninja skills" (as her brothers were fond of calling them) were honed. She dressed in tight black leggings and a deep green tightly fitting long sleeved shirt. She then placed a belt on, some hand wraps, and kept her feet bare. Glancing over at the door to her quarters on her base, Mikaela laid on her back and reached under the bed, pulling out a black duffle bag. After slinging that on, she opened the door to the hallway and glanced around before dashing across it. As Mikaela reached the end, she jumped with her fingers finding a hold along the wall. She pulled the bag around and pulled out a screwdriver.

"God, I feel like Don." Mikaela thought, snickering at the thought of the brainy turtle. As she finished removing three screws, the vent swung open and Mikaela grasped the inside, pulling herself in. She then twisted around, placing double sided tape to the inside, and securing the vent back in place. She would cut the heads of the screws off later to stick on the other side and hide that it was ever tampered with. Then she slithered through the vents, using a mental map of the base to navigate to the old gym on base. She loved that one as there were no cameras and it was abandoned. She could train in peace and people would continue to be unaware of her skills.

Mikaela knows she could tell everyone so they wouldn't have to worry about her defending herself. But she also knew they would ask questions she would refuse to answer; Mikaela would never tell anyone of the turtles or Master Splinter without discussing it thoroughly with them. Mikaela wanted to protect them all from this war, despite knowing that her boys would argue. After all, she fought with them against Shredder and Sacks so why not allow them to help her.

Mikaela contemplated this as she twisted and turned in the vent system, quietly passing by different rooms. She mentally laughed when she glanced through a vent grate to see Epps asleep and drooling (and a flash of jealousy. Why did Epps get so lucky as to get a room with a big enough vent grate to slide into the systems? Not that they knew she was planning to use the vents after memorizing the base layout but still. Her room only had a tiny grate, hence her having to dash down the hall after making sure the camera's would loop for a ten minute interval. And she would need to change that later since she unscrewed it. Would just need to fix the heads to hide the fact it wasn't screws holding it there.)

Finally, Mikaela reached the old gym and started to push on the grate. It was going to be A little louder to open this time but it couldn't be helped. She didn't have any of the equipment to open it from the inside so pushing it out while hoping no one was around to hear the clang was the best she could do. And so, Mikaela pushed as hard as she could against the grate while having her fingers laced through the bars, hearing it groan in protest before the sound of metal being shook echoed throughout the room. The grate was suddenly a dead weight and it would have taken Mikaela to the ground if she hadn't braced her legs against the side of the vents. She quickly pulled it to look like it hadn't moved and withdrew her fingers enough that she could hold onto it but they weren't visible at first glance.

With bated breath, Mikaela watched and listened carefully for the sound of someone investigating the noise. After five minutes passed and there was no sound of anyone having heard, she pulled the grate into the vent before wiggling out and dropping down. As she landed soundlessly on her feet in a crouch, she listened for a few moments longer before whipping around to get the vent grate and tamper with it; she was going to carefully install hinges and something to latch it on the inside (and the outside, just in case). It would take some time and a little loud so she would need to act as quickly as she could. Nobody really came to this end except to patrol once during the day and once at night. Thankfully, they don't enter the room or it would be even harder for her to do. She would want to listen for the patrol and figure out what time they passed by. Mikaela settled down by the vent opening and placed her duffel bag down by her side: it was time to get to work.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was five am by the time Mikaela got back to her room, feeling satisfied. She had managed to install the hinges to the vent and the latch, now she could silently enter and exit the gym at her leisure. Tonight, Mikaela was going to tackle doing the same thing to this hallway vent grate; decided as she was doing the other one that she was going to install hinges and latches on both. It would take longer to do this one but Mikaela is sure she can handle it. Just needs to loop the cameras for 15 minutes at 15 minute intervals while also accounting for the patrols. Glancing at the clock in her room, she figures she can get three and a half hours of sleep and that would leave enough time to clean up before joining everyone for breakfast. Mikaela hides her duffel bag again and changes into pajamas before falling into bed. She is asleep before her head hits the pillow.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's mid-afternoon and Mikaela is relaxing in the rec-center before Will comes to retrieve her for her defense class. She doesn't need it and she hates messing up anything they show her. Mikaela ends up lost in her thoughts and doesn't notice that Will has approached her until he yells, "Boo!"

Mikaela jerks before whipping around with a punch, connecting with Will's cheek and settles into a defensive stance. When she sees that it's just Will, she immediately straightens out. "Oh my god! Will, don't scare me like that!"

"Yeah, I noticed. I'll make a note in my head to never scare you unless I'm a good distance away," Will grimaced, holding his cheek.

"How is your cheek?" Mikaela asked, feeling guilty.

"Eh, may have a shiner there but I'll be fine," Will shrugged as his hand dropped away, showing a bruise already forming.

Mikaela frowned. "So… Defense class is what you came to get me for, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't think you need it anymore. You got a great right hook and your defense stance was pretty good actually,," Will grinned, wincing as he did.

Mikaela grinned at him. “So all I needed to do to get out of it was to learn the stance and punch you after scaring me? Can you sign me up to continue? I’m sure I’ll want the chance to punch you later. Or how about Epps?” Mikaela jokes, throwing a wink out.

“I won’t be your test dummy but maybe you can convince Epps. He would be dumb enough to do it I think.” Will smirked.

“I suppose I should be getting to that lesson though.” Mikaela said, turning to walk towards the door.

“Nah, I’ll talk to Chris. If I tell him that you were the one to give me the bruise and you were in a good stance; feet braced with palms facing outwards to grab or push. You learned all you really needed to, I think.” Will noted, scratching his palm absently. Mikaela blinked in surprise before a grin split her face.

“Seriously?” she questioned.

“Yeah, seriously. You have some free time on your hands now.” Will laughed, “I’ll go let Chris know now. Congrats kid.” Will walked out of the rec room. Mikaela grinned, bolting out the door after him. She wanted to get to her room and get ready to surprise some boys. She was going to New York for a couple days!

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Mikaela groaned. Of course she would be asked to take defense classes. It was just the thing she didn’t want to have to do, pretend to be a worse fighter than she was._

_“What’s up Mikaela?” Ironhide questioned at hearing her groan._

_“I’m being asked to take defensive training but I don’t know if I want to. But I feel like it was less of a suggestion and more a decision that has already been made since me and Sam keep getting involved in the fights. I feel like I improvise pretty well on the spot.” Mikaela complained, keeping her main objection to herself; that she already knew what was going to be taught to her._

_Ironhide hummed. “I happen to agree with them but let me offer this as an incentive. I promise to take you to any city you want for a week or two if you go through with and complete the training.”_

_Mikaela blinked before breaking out in a grin. “Make it New York for two weeks and you have a deal!”_

_Ironhide raised a metal eyebrow at the quick location choice but nodded. “Deal. You complete the training and I’ll take you to New York for two weeks.”_

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mikaela burst into her room and closed the door behind her. She then dived under her bed and pulled down her duffel bag. Wiggling out from underneath it, she dug out her tessens, her mask, and her shell-cell. Giggling, she bolted out the door. She ran to the open hanger, hiding her tessens in her jeans, her phone and mask into her back pocket.

Upon entering the room, Mikaela sought out Ironhide. Upon spying him across the room talking to Sideswipe, she quickly walked up behind him before yelling, “Ironhide! I finished my defense training. I recall a promise that you would take me to New York when I finished.”

Ironhide turned and raised his eyebrow, sceptically asking “You’ve completed your training?”

Mikaela pouted. “Where’s the faith, Ironhide? If you want you can ask Will. He’s the one who told me that he would tell Chris that my training was complete.”

Ironhide smiled. “No, I think you’re telling the truth. The only thing is that we need to get Optimus’ approval. I’ll comm him and get it. We’ll be on the road in no time.” She nodded and turned to Sideswipe as Ironhide wandered off to talk to Optimus.

“Finally remember that I’m here baby face?” Sideswipe teased. Mikaela laughed, Sideswipe often reminded her of Mikey.

“Sorry Sideswipe. I was just excited.” Mikaela smiled. She and Sideswipe continued to talk while waiting for Ironhide to come back. Finally, Ironhide came back and was able to inform her of what Optimus said.

“We have approval to go but there is a catch. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are to come with us and you will have a phone Wheeljack made with you at all times.” Upon seeing Mikaela’s apprehension of carrying one of Wheeljack’s inventions, Ironhide quickly assured her. “It has been tested multiple times and it is safe. It has, what you humans call, a panic button. It will alert us and give us your location if you need help. Upon getting to the city, you can wander around by yourself if you want, although we kinda hope you don’t.”

Mikaela pursed her lips but nodded. She should have realized that there would be strings attached. At least it seemed that the phone would give her location until the panic button was pressed. “Let’s get going then!” With that, Sideswipe went to retrieve Sunstreaker as Ironhide scooped up Mikaela and walked off to Wheeljack’s lab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has chapter has been reposted with a couple of corrections in order to fit the timeline I want in.


	3. Chapter Two

Mikaela smiled as Ironhide drove her to the city. He had his holoform in the driver's seat so she could enjoy the drive without having to look like she was driving. Mikaela glanced over at Ironhide's holoform, studying his appearance; his holoform had black hair, soft blue eyes (surprising, given his title as the Autobots weapons master), and a strong jawline. Ironhide gave his holoform a white t-shirt, a black leather jacket (with the Autobots symbol on the shoulders), jeans, and black combat boots. Mikaela smiled again then glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing Sideswipe and Sunstreaker following close behind. They looked like they were having some sort of competition, what type she couldn't tell. Mikaela laughed when she saw Sunstreaker pass Sideswipe and honk as he did so.

She looked back at Ironhide and saw him shake his head, a small smile on his face. When he noticed Mikaela looking at him, Ironhide chuckled. "Those two slagging idiots are trying to get the other to run off the road. Sideswipe told Sunstreaker his paint job looked bad in the back to try and get him panicking. That's why Sunny blared his horn at Sides."

Mikaela threw her head back and laughed. "God, I know two people those two would get along with like a house on fire." She told Ironhide, still chuckling.

Ironhide raised an eyebrow, glancing over at her. "Is that so? What's their names?"

Mikaela paused for a moment before doing a mental shrug; it's not like he could find any records of the boys anywhere. "Raphael and Michelangelo. Called Raph and Mikey for short. Raph has a bit of a temper but protective of those he's close to. Mikey…" Mikaela paused, trying to think of the best way to describe him. "Mikey is a bit of a jokester. A lot more laid back than any of his brothers but, when needed, he can be serious. Great at getting people out of their black moods. Anyways, I feel like Raph and Sunny would get along after a while. Mikey and Sides would hit it off right away. I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing yet."

Mikaela thought of all the pranks Mikey and Sides had done respectively before shaking her head. "On second thought, I don't want Mikey and Sided meeting. It would be bad for my health and everyone's sanity."

Ironhide laughed, "Why's that Mikaela?"

"They would prank everyone and then give each other ideas for more pranks. I would rather not be a victim of those two teaming up."

Ironhide paused at that. "Okay, that is a good point then."

Mikaela chuckled and a comfortable silence returned for the rest of the trip.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mikaela stood in the middle of New York again for the first time in years. She smiled as she stood by Ironhide's alt form, looking at the bustling masses. "I'm going to grab my stuff and go. I have some friends I'm going to stay with these weeks and they know I don't have a car so I'm going to walk there."

At Ironhide's dubious look at letting Mikaela go off on her own, she rolled her eyes. "Hide, I finished my training and I'm carrying Wheeljack's questionable cell phone. I'll press the panic button if I need you guys. I'm sure Sunny and Sides are going to be running around the city too so I'm sure one of you will always be close. I’ll even meet up with you throughout these two weeks."

Ironhide sighed and agreed, opened up his back door, allowing Mikaela to grab her bags. He then pulled her into a hug. "You push that button the moment you get into trouble, ok?"

"I will Hide. I'll be careful. See you soon, okay? I'll even call tonight." Mikaela promised before turning and losing herself in the crowd. She traveled a few blocks and when a thick crowd passed in front of any alley way, ducked into it. She glanced around, pleased to note it was a dead end. She looked at the alley entrance before turning to the man-hole cover, opening it and stepped down the ladder. Before going further, she pulled the cover back over the top, effectively disappearing from sight.

Mikaela gripped the sides of the ladder tight and moved her feet to the outside of it. She then loosened her grip and slid down to the bottom, her boots hitting the sewer walkway. She dragged her duffel bag in front of her, pulling out a flashlight. Mikaela could still probably navigate these sewers blind but didn't want to tempt fate. She pushed her duffel to her back once more before setting off. Time to go surprise some turtles! (And hopefully Master Splinter. But Apr… Mikaela could almost guarantee he somehow already knew.)

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mikaela quietly stepped around a corner and saw the entrance to the lair. A smile broke across her face and, as she stepped through, she breathed in a deep breath. She was home. Sure, she had liked South Gate well enough, though she could have never fit in without hiding who she really was. She fit in and loved the Autobots too but they still didn’t fully know her, to no fault of their own. But here… here was where she could be truly herself, where the people knew her and loved her. Mikaela felt her smile grow into a huge grin but, despite wanting to surprise the boys, she felt her feet turn towards the dojo. She could hear the sounds of Master Splinter training, despite the quiet sounds of it, and felt herself relax. Before she entered, Mikaela removed her duffel bag and quietly placed it on the ground outside. She pulled out her black mask, tying it on, and openly hung her tessen fans from her belt.

Mikaela then stepped through the door and looked to the center of the room. Sure enough, there was Master Splinter going through katas, one she recognized. She watched for a moment and then joined him in the middle of the room. She saw his ears twitch in her direction and a small smile form on his face but Master Splinter didn’t break from his movements. She closed her eyes and joined him, feeling a sense of peace drop over her. Mikaela had missed this, had missed training with Father. As the name crossed her mind, Mikaela recalled the first time she had called Splinter father.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_ April rushed into the lair, crying as she flung herself towards the dojo. She knew she could find Master Splinter there and he could help her calm down. His calm presence and wise words could help her where her uncle Robert couldn’t. As April entered the dojo, Splinter turned to greet her before being confronted with her tear-stained face. _

_ “My child, come tell me what is wrong.” Master Splinter said gently, his hand grabbing her elbow as he guided her to the side where a few zabutons laid on the ground. As they sat down, she began to tell him how, between sobs, a group of other fourth graders cornered her outside the school to make fun of April being an orphan. She had tried to leave but one of the boys in the group kept pushing her back. Finally she had broken into tears and punched the main bully, a girl named Maria, in the face before taking off towards here. _

_ April could feel Splinter’s eyes on her as she began to cry some more upon finishing the story. In a few moments, he drew her head into his lap and stroked her hair in silence as she cried. When April finally calmed down, she sat up and looked at Splinter. “W… What do I do? I know they are going to try and corner me tomorrow for what I did. I… I don’t know what to do.” _

_ “Oh my child. If only I could help protect you from the cruelty of the world above.” Splinter sighed quietly. “However, you cannot run from this as you would like. I suggest speaking to your uncle. He can help and leave out nothing of the encounter when you tell him. Then make sure you don’t leave the school alone. Have a friend with you so the other children will be reluctant to do anything with another around.” As she took in this advice, Splinter stroked his beard for a few moments before speaking again. “Come child. We will skip your training this once. You have had a trying day and should take time to calm down more. Let us go have some tea.” _

_ April nodded and stood up, following Splinter to the kitchen. As he began to make the tea, she tilted her head in thought as she stared at him. Finally, she hesitantly spoke, “Master Splinter?” At his answering hum, April continued. “May I refer to you as father?” She watched as Splinter jerked in surprise before shooting her a questioning look. She bit her lip. “It’s just… My dad will always be my dad but when I think of a father figure, I don’t picture uncle Richard. I picture you. And the boys feel like my brothers. We feel like a family and I see you as another father. So, may I call you father?” _

_ At her explanation, Splinter pulled the tea pot off the flame and then pulled April herself into a hug. As she hugged him back, he responded with a smile and tears in his voice, “Yes, my daughter. You can call me Father.” _

_ April felt herself smile. “Thank you Father.” _

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mikaela came back to herself as she and Master Splinter finished the katas together. They turned towards each other and bowed, showing respect. As they straightened up, Mikaela looked at Father to find a smile upon his face. He opened his arms and she rushed into them; they sat there, embracing each other for a long period. Father finally spoke, “Welcome home my daughter.”

Mikaela pulled back and beamed at him. “It is good to be home Father. How have you been?”

“I’ve been well. Your brothers are on the surface, going for a run. They will be pleased to see you.” Father replied, “But enough about us. How have you been my child? Come, let us sit as you tell your tales.”

After they settled down on the zabutons, Mikaela began to speak, “I’ve been well Father. You remember my story of what happened in Mission city?” At Father’s nod, she continued. “Since then, I’ve been marked a target for the Decepticons. I admit, it probably wasn’t the smartest move to… well... stunt drive is the best description, through an active war zone with an injured Autobot shooting things as I drove. But my friend Sam was fighting and me and Bumblebee want to fight. Anyways, the Decepticons now hate me. So I’ve been staying at the Autobot base and went through their defense training to get approval to leave. But I’m not alone in the city. Three Autobots have brought me here and are staying for the two weeks I’m here. In order to be able to be by myself to see you guys, I’ve agreed to call Ironhide tonight and meet with him throughout these weeks. The Autobots that have followed me here are Ironhide, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe.”

At the information given, Father stroked his beard. “Perhaps the boys should be a bit more careful on their surface runs. Could the Autobots sense them?”

Mikaela shook her head. “These three have advanced sensors but not like the Autobot medic, Ratchet. They will be able to tell someone around but, unless they get a visual on them, will assume it’s a human. Their sensors only really tell them if someone is around when actively scanning and if it is organic or not. If Ratchet was here, I would worry but they need him more back at the base. And at night it will be better as they will most likely go into recharge, their version of sleep.”

Father nodded, “I will inform them to stay out of sight as much as possible then. Now go, place your things in your room. Your brothers will be home soon and I’m sure you would like to be settled by then.”

Mikaela smiled and nodded, getting up before heading out the door. It was time to surprise her brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I didn't in this chapter but in future chapters, Mikaela will flip back and forth between using Father and Master Splinter like the turtles do. To them, the term is interchangeable. Master Splinter is what they always use during training. Father is for any other time, although they still use Master Splinter. I just wanted to leave you all a note so there will be no confusion in future chapters.


	4. Chapter Three

Mikaela stepped into her room, taking a deep breath as she looked around. She had multiple "sleepovers with friends" when she was younger so she could just stay longer at the lair. Eventually, they had just ended up giving her a room so she wouldn't need to use the couch or cuddle with one of the boys. She had made the room her own, bringing small things that her uncle would notice missing from her room with him. Even now, she could see a small wooden jewelry box sitting on her nightstand; she gently placed down her bags and picked it up. Opening it up, Mikaela saw her mother and father's wedding rings along with their high school's class rings. She smiled sadly, using a finger to gently stroke the contents. She knelt down to her duffel bag and, with one hand, opened a pocket to pull out her own class ring. Mikaela placed it in the jewelry box and, after looking at the five rings glittering gently in the light, closed the lid before placing it back on the nightstand. Taking another deep breath, she turned back towards her bags; time to unpack before the boys got home.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mikaela stood in the pipes above the main room, waiting for the boys to enter. She had exited her room a few moments ago and Master Splinter gestured for her to climb up as he settled down into his normal afternoon routine. She had scrambled up the pipes, her hands automatically finding hand-holds as she scrambled to the top. Mikaela settled in, crouching down and leaning over the edge, holding onto a thin pipe to keep herself from falling over.

She and Splinter waited for about fifteen minutes before they finally heard yelling in the pipes, their heads automatically tilting towards the sound. Sure enough, the boys flew out of the pipe and landed on their feet about ten minutes later; laughing and smiling at something one of them must have said. Mikaela felt her eyes fill with tears at the sight of them. Slag it, she had missed them so badly. She refrained from making any noise as Splinter motioned the boys over towards him. They quieted down immediately as they headed to him; as they came to stand underneath her, she slipped out a grappling wire and wound it around the small pole then securing the wire to herself.

"My sons, is there anything of note you gathered during your trip?" Splinter questioned, effectively distracting the boys as she began to quietly lower herself down.

"Nothing important. How were you while we were out?" Leo answered, locking his eyes onto Master Splinter's form. At that point, Mikaela's feet touched the ground and she unhooked herself, silently moving to behind the boys.

"Oh, nothing. A small surprise is here for you boys." Splinter told them, calmly folding his hands on top of his lap. Mikaela noticed that, as she approached closer to them, Father's quiet amusement at the situation grew.

"A surprise? Oh, oh, oh! What is it? Can you tell us, dad? What is it, what did you get?" Mikey burst out as he stared at Splinter, almost ready to vibrate in place. Mikaela was now standing right behind them and felt ready to laugh when not one turtle noticed her presence.

Splinter finally laughed as he said, "Why don't you turn around, my sons, and see for yourself."

Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey turned around as one and, upon seeing Mikaela standing there, Shouted out in varying levels of glee.

"April!"

"A...April?!"

"Princess?!"

"Angel cakes!"

She laughed as the boys rushed her and she was swept off her feet, being passed from turtle to turtle as they each gave her a hug. Mikey took charge as he began shooting questions at her when Mikaela's feet finally hit the ground. "I still can't believe how quiet you’ve gotten after Sacks. When did you get here? How did you get here? Was it one of the Autobots? Are you here to stay or just to visit? Do you have anything cool to show us?"

Mikaela laughed again, "Slow down a bit, big brother. Now to answer your questions: I just got in today. Yes, it was the Autobot named Ironhide. Sadly, I'm only here to visit for two weeks and I have work to do later in the week. And no Mikey. As just someone they send to represent the Autobots depending on the day, even if it is off camera and record because the Autobots aren’t common knowledge, I don't get the cool toys that the NEST soldiers do."

"We're glad your back April, even if only for two weeks." Don smiled at her before his eyes widened. "Wait! I have something to give you! It was made with you in mind if you needed to get information! I'll be right back." Mikaela shook her head fondly as Don ran off towards his lab, tripping on something along the way.

"Ninjas Don! Don't go tripping over everything!" She called after him, getting Raph to snicker.

"Glad your back princess. I like it when we pummel heads together at night." Raph told her, flashing a smirk and pulling her into a noogie.

"Raph!" She laughed, "Stop it!" He released her, still holding his smirk even as she scrambled onto his back and used it to jump on top of Leo. Leo oofed as he caught her, surprised at the quick movement. "Awww, thanks for the catch Leo."

He laughed and dropped her, causing her to squawk as she scrambled to catch herself in time. When she properly got her feet underneath her, Mikaela pouted at Leo as she slunk over to Mikey. "Mikey... Leo is being mean to me," she jokingly whined.

"Awwww, Angel cakes. Come to big brother Mikey. He'll protect you from the big bad Leo," Mikey crooned at her. Raph snickered again at the deadpan look Leo sent the two as they played the part of wounded puppy and empathizing big brother. Father had already left, shaking his head at his children's antics.

It was when Mikaela and Mikey had grown tired of being dramatic that Don finally left his lab looking triumphant. His expression changed as he took in Leo and Raph's deadpan expressions and her and Mikey's amused ones. Don shook his head, deciding to ignore the atmosphere as he walked up to Mikaela. He gently grabbed her hand and strapped something to her wrist. "Here is a watch I made. It can remotely hack devices while also working as a direct communication point to us. All you need to do to get it started is to open it up using this little button. You can figure out the finer points later but I wanted you to have it, just in case." Don explained while showing off the multiple features.

"This is amazing Don! Thank you so much!" Mikaela squealed, launching herself at him. Don caught her and swung her around. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" All the boys laughed and Mikaela smiled. She missed this, missed them.

"Hey princess! I just remembered. We're heading to a basketball game tomorrow. Wanna join us?" Raph told her.

Mikaela wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Nah, I don't care for basketball so much. Anything interesting I could do instead? What about that Baxter Stockman guy? He is a new head scientist I heard. And with Shredder being moved in the next couple of days, I wouldn't mind covering our bases."

Leo hummed, "I suppose that it would be a good thing to check up on. You sure you want to do that? This is meant to be your vacation."

"Leo, I haven't been able to do ninja stuff or espionage in forever. I would love to do it." Mikaela told Leo, looking completely serious.

Leo sigh and nodded, "Alright, you can check up on that. We can look and see where he will be tomorrow night." Mikaela grinned and scampered to the lab with Don. Time to stalk Stockman... and call Ironhide quick.

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Mikaela glanced around the bar room, a 7-up sitting on the counter in front of her. She was wearing a blond wig and fake black rimmed glasses to change her general appearance along with wearing a white button up shirt, a black jacket, a short black pencil skirt, and black flats. She glanced around waiting for Stockman to show up. She glanced down at Don's gift to her and her eyes widened; she didn't know it's range!

Mikaela took a deep breath and removed a bluetooth from her pocket; time to call Don and ask. They should be settled in at the game right now and should be fine to call them now. As she used the bluetooth watch to call him, she glanced around once more and spotted Stockman entering the building. Right then, the call was picked up.

"Hey April!" Don greeted her.

"April! Hey! What's up April?" She heard Mikey start to shout and, as an electric shock sounded, Mikaela heard Mikey cry out.

"Sorry, Mikey is being very excitable right now. You know how he gets." Don calmly told her, as if talking about the weather. She stifled a laugh.

"Donnie, listen. I'm at Grand Central Station and in position to wait for Stockman. But I don't know the radius for the device you gave me. He's heading up the stairs so as much as I'd love to chat, I'll need the number quickly." Mikaela told Don, watching Stockman out of the corner of her eye.

"Got it. You'll need to get within three feet of his device, whatever it is. You remember the info we talked about in case you need to talk to him?” Don told her, his tone becoming serious.

“Alright, thanks Don. I do remember but it hopefully won’t come to that. Talk to you soon.” Mikaela told him before glancing at Stockman. He had just come up the stairs and was seated at a table a few feet away. Mikaela watched as he opened his tablet cover, glancing at its screen before closing it back up. She opened her watch, hoping it was close enough to hack but sighed when it told her that she was out of range. Mikaela closed it again before standing up, placing a nervous and excited look on her face. She then walked over to Stockman. She began to nervously stutter a bit, “Excuse me. Um… Sorry. Aren’t you… um…”

Baxter laughed and cut her off, “As much as I’d like to be someone a girl like you would recognize, I can assure you. You don’t know who I am.”

Mikaela felt a flash of irritation but continued to give a star-struck expression. “You’re Baxter Stockman. PHD. Graduated from MIT at fifteen years old. Your innovations in nanorobtics at TCRI have been truly inspirational.” She forced herself to giggle nervously. “I mean… I’m so sorry. Like, I’m a nerd.”

Stockman looked amazed, “No, please. Geek out, please.” He gestured for her to join him at the table.

“Really?” She asked, pretending to hesitate.

“Yeah.” He smiled at her and she joined him, sitting across from him.

“Oh, well, thank you.” She pushed her glasses up her face before continuing, “Um, actually though, there’s a big difference. I’m a nerd, not a geek.” She subtly opened her watch so it could start hacking into his tablet. “Um, it’s the difference between, like, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Or, um, TED talks and…”

“Comic Con!” they said together.

Baxter laughed, “Yeah.”

Before they could continue talking, a man dressed in a shocking amount of tan ran up to them. “Dr. Stockman. We just got confirmation, sir. The  _ package _ is shipping later tonight.”

Stockman looked seriously at him before picking up his tablet and handing it to the man. “Well, make sure they’re tracking it every step of the way. And Trevor, I’m done working for the day.” While the men were focused on each other, Mikaela took the time to glance and see how far along the download was. She cursed in her head as she saw it was only at seventy percent. Glancing back up, she quickly thought of how to get out of talking to Stockman and follow Trevor. She shifted and felt one of her phones in her pocket. Before Stockman had his attention back on her, she slipped it out and pretended to look at it.

Stockman turned back to her even as she held her phone to her chest, cradling the bottom part. “I’m so sorry. It’s my boyfriend, I have to take it.” As Stockman tried to convince her to stay, she stood up and said, “It has truly been an honor to meet you and you are truly one of the greatest minds of your generation.” With that she hurried off, slipping everything important into her skirt pockets. She took the steps quickly, scanning the crowd for her target. When she found him, she pursed her lips and tried to figure out how to stop him long enough for her to finish the download when she noticed a crowd of school girls directly in his path. She glanced over at the shops and saw a snap-on plaid skirt like the girls had and a black cardigan. She rushed down the steps, discarding her jacket in a trash bin as she passed. Then, walking hurriedly, she walked through the shop and snagged the skirt, putting it on, and then pulling her pencil skirt up so it wasn’t noticeable.

As she was leaving, Mikaela also grabbed the cardigan, pulling it on and ditching the wig and glasses. She threw them to the side and unbuttoned the bottom of her shirt while tying the two sides together, exposing her stomach. As she passed a guy wearing a cowboy hat, Mikaela snagged the hat. Walking up to Trevor, she placed it on his head while calling out to the girls, “Look, everybody. I got a cowboy. Look at those muscles, am I right? Wow.” They all posed for a picture and Mikaela flipped open her watch as they arranged themselves for it. A few seconds later and the download was complete. Mikaela then simply slid out of the group and walked away. Time to review all that data and give the guys an update.

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Mikaela pursed her lips; she was right. Stockman was working with the Shredder and that “package” was the Shredder being moved tonight, not a couple of days. The boys needed to know this. With a sigh, Mikaela popped her bluetooth in and tapped the watch’s screen, calling Don. They were closer to the lair and she was halfway across the city. They could easily intercept the Foot breaking the Shredder out and she did promise to meet up with Ironhide, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe anyways. It would distract them from listening to the cops radio, therefore keeping them from learning about her brothers. She pulled out the phone the Autobots gave her, opening up a message box with Ironhide as the bluetooth rang in her ear. Time stop the Shredder and play distraction. She snickered; barely even a couple days into her stay and she’s already plotting with her brothers on how to take a highly dangerous maniac down.


	5. Chapter Four

Mikaela sighed as she waited at the pier for the Autobot group to arrive. Sure, she needed to play distraction but now Mikaela had a taste of what she could be doing with her skills and felt antsy now that she acquired all of this energy but couldn’t use it. She glanced around her before sitting down and pulling out her tablet. She had hidden a messenger bag outside of Grand Central Station with a tablet, her tessen, her mask, and some extra clothing. Pulling up the app Don made to connect to her watch (Don really did think of everything), she began to review the information. She frowned more and more as she read page after page. This was all about the Foot Clan; Mikey would call it a playbook for the Foot. She skimmed through some more pages before all the files began to erase themselves from the tablet. She glared at it; all that work to get it and it erases itself before she could even get to much useful information.

Mikaela was still sitting against the fence, glaring, when the three of them finally pulled up. She looked up and beamed at them, turning another quick glare at the tablet as she shut it off and placed it in her bag. She then wandered over to the entrance to the pier and took out a key; the owner, Thomas, was a family friend and she had begged and pleaded with him to get a key. She loved playing in the storage units and Thomas eventually agreed, if only to get her to stop begging him. He never changed the locks on the place and it had become the place where she would meet anyone after dark; at first, it was the turtles and now it was the Autobots.

She blinked and shook her head; now was not the time to reminisce. She opened the gate and ushered them through before locking it again. She then had them follow her further in until they reached a point where they could transform without anyone seeing them.

"Hey there baby face! What's up?" Sideswipe greeted her, leaving no room for the other two to say anything.

"Hey Sides. Nothing much. Was hanging out with my friends but then they went to the basketball game. Invited me but I declined. Never really been interested in that sport. Prefer hockey, swimming, some wrestling. Wandered around for a bit and then decided to meet up with you guys. Although I should head back to my friend's house in a few hours. They’ll worry otherwise."

"That's alright Mikaela. This is just a precautionary measure. As one of our human ambassadors and our friend, you would be highly valuable to the Decepticons. We wish to keep you safe from them because of such a reason." Ironhide told her, his face serious.

"I understand Ironhide. It's why I agreed to all this. The Decepticons are a threat and I know that both through the knowledge I hold and the fact we are friends puts me at risk. I'm leery of anything electronic I hold nowadays unless I know it's secure. You know I don't even have anything on the computer even. I put it all on paper and only really use an email now when I do need to contact someone in the know." Mikaela told him, just as serious.

And it was true; she didn't work in the small office set aside for her and Sam often. They only really worked during the week and split the days so they both had 2-3 work days each. For these two week even, Mikaela had brought her computer for any emails and all her paperwork so Sam didn't have to shoulder it all in her absence from the base. ( _ That reminds her. She should call Sam, ask how things were going there. She didn’t want to be blindsided by anything.) _

Ironhide inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Any plans with your friends over the week? I'd like to try and set up our next meet up if we could."

Mikaela's mind raced, how was she supposed to know when she could meet with them when she didn't even know how the turtles were doing at foiling the escape attempt! Mikaela furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "I'm not really sure. We didn't really talk about what we were going to do. I can talk with them tonight and message you when I know if that's alright with you?"

Ironhide hummed, "That is fine. Just as long as we know."

Sideswipe finally burst into the conversation. "Now that you two are done being all serious and business, I have a question. How did you get a key to this place Mikaela?"

Mikaela shrugged as she placed her hands in her pocket. "A family friend owns this place and I managed to get him to give me a key a long time ago. Along with permission to come in and out as I please whenever I’m in town. With no cameras or anything and the fact he never changes the locks, it's the perfect place to meet up." She could only hope her casual attitude to the situation would get the matter dropped quickly. She almost sighed in relief when Sides nodded thoughtfully, only the fact they would have heard it made her repress it. Finally they fell into normal conversations, talking until it was close to midnight before they left. Sideswipe insisted on being the one to drop her off close to her friends "house" and Mikaela agreed. Score one for Mikaela on the superb distraction. The Autobots didn't even seem to have noticed anything was transpiring and she was relieved to have hidden her brothers for another day.

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Her relief was short lived as when she entered the lair, Mikaela saw the turtles grim and befuddled faces. "What happened? Did Shredder escape?"

Leo gestured for her to follow them as they walked to Donnie's lab. "We were waiting for you to get back before reviewing Donnie's shoulder cam footage. As far as Shredder, we don't know where he is. One moment, we were staring right at him and the next, he was gone. Don is hoping to find something to help us with said camera footage."

"We're going to slow it down then. Try and see what happened during those few seconds." Mikaela nodded, understanding. "But what could have happened? Could it be Stockman or something else?"

"I'm not sure April. I have multiple guesses but with the footage, maybe we could pinpoint what happened. Keep an eye out, okay?” Don informed her as he plugged in the camera. Everyone waited as Don pulled up the footage and as he began to play the video, Mikaela and Don leaned towards the screen.

“Wait Don! Can you go back and slow the playback speed to… let’s say, point twenty five?” Mikaela asked Don as she leaned closer to the screen, her eyes catching a flash of color right before the Shredder disappeared. Don obliged and rewound the video before reducing the playback speed. With the footage being much slower, they were all able to see as a flash of blue eclipsed the Shredder in the moment of his disappearance. “I don’t recognize what that is. Don?”

“It appears to be some kind of residue from a teleportation event.” Don informed them all.

“Yeah, teleportation event residue, man. It's the worst.” Mikey said, only getting the gist of what happened. Everyone glanced at him, raising their eyebrows before turning back to the screens.

“Does that kind of technology even exist?” Raph asked Don, frowning at the implications of that sort of power being under the Shredder’s command.

“Baxter Stockman's been working on this kind of tech for years. Hasn’t released anything on it recently though. For all I know, he could have recently perfected a device.” Don said gravely.

“That stuff I pulled off Stockman’s tablet. It was filled with information about Shredder and the Foot Clan. I’m sure that you would basically call it a playbook for them. Stockman would probably have a backup server at TCRI. I’m going to have to break-in. Don, my techo brother, you have anything for me?” Mikaela turned to Don, smiling brightly at him.

“I know exactly what to give you.” Don smiled back before turning towards his desk, digging through some stacks of paper. With a little ‘a-ha’ escaping his mouth, Don pulled out a flash drive and handed it to her. “Total plug and play action.”

“Thanks Don.” Mikaela took the proffered device and turned to run out of the lair.

“Wait April! We’ll come as support.” Leo said, all the boys making to follow her.

Mikaela smiled, ready to accept but then saw the time on her watch. “Wait guys. The suns coming up. You can’t come.” She sighed, looking sadly at them as they deflated. “I’ll see you guys later. Be back with those files, okay?”

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April took the sewers until she knew she was close to the TCRI building. Climbing to the surface, she hovered in the shadows and waited for a crowd to pass by the alley-way entrance to seamlessly enter into it. Glancing around at the buildings, Mikaela quickly assessed her mental map of the city; she was only a couple blocks away from TCRI. She mentally gave herself a pat on the back for choosing the right manhole to exit out of, that was always the hardest part.

Her good mood evaporated quickly when, as she turned a corner, Mikaela saw the unmistakable color and car model of Sunstreaker. She cursed; Mikaela had told them last night that she was hanging out with friends. If Sunny spotted her and no friends to be found at all near her, she would be in big trouble. She needed to take another… Too late. She knew the moment Sunny saw her as his holoform locked his eyes on her and opened the door.

Mikaela’s thoughts raced; she needed to get to TCRI and get those files. But how could she shake Sunny? Mikaela tried to think of anything that she could do in order to keep off their “Mikaela is lying or in trouble” radar. Unless… Mikaela sighed. She could tell the three of them but see wouldn’t unless her brothers agreed. She locked eyes with Sunny again and inclined her head to an alleyway. Sunny nodded curtly and made his holoform get back into his alt form before taking off to said alleyway.

Mikaela casually walked towards the meeting point while weaving in and out of the crowds, ducking into the alleyway when she was finally able. Taking a deep breath, she turned towards Sunny’s holoform; he had blond hair, blue eyes, a white t-shirt, a yellow leather jacket (again with the Autobots insignia on the shoulder), a black pair of jeans, and black sneakers.

“What is going on squishy? You said you were hanging out with your friends today and yet, I’m finding you running around with, apparently, no such friends in sight. You’re lucky I decided to let you explain yourself before I tell Ironhide.” Sunny sneered at her, his arms crossed.

“I want to explain but, to put it simply, your guy’s secret isn’t the only one I’m keeping. As such, I’m going to contact some people and ask them if it will be okay to tell you all. And I will say this, the ones I’m contacting are already aware of your existence.” Mikaela admitted even as she took a running leap towards a fire escape. She didn’t stay to really listen to Sunny’s curses and demands for an answer, although she could still hear it from the top of the escape. She tapped her watch’s screen and allowed her small version of Don’s own interface popped up. She quickly tapped and scrolled before she connected to Don’s computer system.

“Hey April! What’s going on? I thought you were heading to TCRI.” Don answered, his concerned face appearing.

“April! What’s the situation?” Leo noticed her appearance and walked into their camera’s view.

“Hey guys. Can you get Mikey and Raph over here? A… situation came up and I need to talk to you about it.” Mikaela grimaced, glancing down to see Sides had joined Sunny now. (She absently noted Sides looked like Sunny except where Sunny was yellow, Sides was grey.) When her brothers were all gathered, she sighed and began explaining the situation. This was going to take a while…

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"So we all agree? Me explaining everything and trying to get them to stay out of the situation unless I call them?" Mikaela asked, wanting to make sure. She knew their answer but hated what she had to do; she had kept their secret as both April and Mikaela. Now, just because she didn't spot Sunny fast enough to evade him, she needed to give up her long kept secret.

"April. We trust you and if you trust them, then we'll trust them for the time being too. Just make sure that you get away if needed. We don't want to lose you because the Autobots decide we're too dangerous." Leo rumbled out, looking displeased at the thought of her being taken away. The other got similar looks after Leo mentioned it; Raph actually growled and started twirling his sais.

"Alright. I've burned up enough time then. I'll take some more time to talk to them but then I'll be heading to TCRI. By the time I get out of there, it should be nighttime. I'll head to the alleyways and meet you there." Mikaela told her brothers, tone serious.

They all nodded at her. "Stay safe." Leo said right before the feed was cut on both sides. Mikaela took a deep breath before looking back down at the ground. At some point while she had been talking, Ironhide had joined the other two. She could see from her position at the top of the building that they all had equally serious faces; it didn’t surprise her, given what she admitted. She sighed once more before taking a dive off the escape, angling herself to fall close enough to said fire escape where all she would have to do was reach a hand out to grab it.

Mikaela enjoyed the rush of the free fall, even as the Autobots cried out in alarm. Before any of them could transform to catch her, she shot out her arm and grabbed ahold. When that effectively slowed her fall, she threw herself into a spinning flip before landing in a crouch. She took a deep breath before turning towards the three Autobots. “Hey guys. I have something to tell you. It’ll be a quick version because I need to do something and it’s time sensitive.”

“I’m upset to find you’ve kept secrets from us, one of which is the level of training you’ve had. However, you’ve had our backs before and haven’t broken our trust yet besides now. Tell us your story.” Ironhide told her, his holoform heaving a big sigh.

“Alright, I do have two questions. One, how far did you all look into my past and, two, have you heard of the Shredder?” Mikaela proded, wanting to know exactly where to start.

“Not too far, just enough to verify you were who you said you were. And we’ve heard some of this ‘Shredder’ but given the fact he was taken down by a cameraman, Vernon, we didn’t feel the need to really worry or care about him.” Sides told her, shrugging.

“Ok, now I know where to start. No interruptions please. First of all? My name hasn’t always been Mikaela Banes. It was April O’Neil but one of my uncle’s changed it before sending me off to my other uncle. Second of all, Vernon? He didn’t take down the Shredder. Me and my friends I’ve been staying with did. But I consider those friends to be my brothers and their dad a second father. Said friends? As far as anyone is concerned, they don’t exist. I had the only piece of evidence of their existence and I destroyed it long ago. We were all trained by Father, who we also call Master Splinter. He taught us all the art of ninjutsu so we could defend ourselves and sneak around unseen. Now Shredder has broken out of prison with the help of Baxter Stockman. I hacked his tablet last night and got all his files. However, they had a self-destruct program so I couldn’t get a good look at everything. Me and my friends need those files so I’m breaking into TCRI. I need to go now but if you go to the pier we met at last night, we will be there or I will at least. From there, we’ll see how this will go.” April said all of this slowly, glancing at the sky. She noticed that it was nearing dark, and cursed. “I’m sorry but I need to go right now.” Without waiting to hear what they would say about anything she said, Mikaela took off towards TCRI.

There was no more time for chit-chat, this was a time for action.


	6. Chapter Five

Mikaela slowed as she reached the entrance of TCRI. Taking a deep breath, she calmly opened up the door to the building. As she walked further in, she felt her eyebrows furrow a little; where were the receptionists or the guards? She walked to the counter, peering behind the desk, before glancing around and hurrying to a door behind the desk marked “Employees Only”. She glanced around again but started to confidently head further back, finding an elevator. She stepped in and watched as the doors closed; she then opened up her watch and opened a call to Don again while her fingers flew across the interface.

"Hey April. What's up?" Don greeted her, face serious.

"Donnie. Things are going well but I need some help. Can you help me hack into TCRI from your end and find the level Stockman's lab is on? We didn't think about this before I left and I'm stuck in an elevator until we do figure it out." She said briskly, fingers still flying across the small interface. She noticed when Don joined in, his end silent as they worked together in breaking down the firewalls and security. Within thirty minutes, they let out a quiet cheer when they got in before quickly diving back in to search for the information they needed.

"I got it, April. Twenty-fifth floor and it's the entire floor. Good luck and be careful." Don told her before cutting the line.

Mikaela sighed and pressed the button for the twenty-fifth floor. Slag, she hoped that there was nobody by the elevator. She would like to keep her presence on the down low, thank you very much.

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Mikaela cursed in her head as she ran out the doors of the TCRI building, the mutagen(? Ooze? Whatever.) in hand as she crossed the streets. She slid over the hoods of a couple cars as she ran from Shredder and his lackeys. Of course Shredder would manage to find something to turn people into animal-human hybrids. And of course, Mikaela would decide the smartest thing to do would be to dash across the room to grab the container of the ooze before hitting an emergency lockdown button despite the fact that she probably could have snuck across the room without being detected.

Mikaela finally darted into an alley and was ready to call the boys when a Foot Clan Ninja dropped down in front of her. She fell into a defensive stance when she heard four more dropping down around her. She pursed her lips as she assessed her situation. "You know, you should turn back now. This won't work out for you. I mean, I have the four friends that kicked your leaders butt the last time." She grinned sharply. "Not to mention I helped. I did feel a need to get back at him for deciding I would be a great test subject for the mutagen. But that does suck for you though, cause I'm much harder to take down now."

When the ninjas all stayed silent, she sighed through her nose (goodness, she was doing that alot lately) and settled further into her stance. Well, if they want their asses kicked, who was she to deny them that chance.

However, before she could make a move, the four Foot Clan were brought down by hockey pucks. She whipped around and stared incredulously at the person in the alley entrance who held a hockey stick and wore a hockey mask along with a blue shirt, a jean jacket, jeans, and black sneakers.

"Who the heck are you?" was all Mikaela was able to say before another group of Foot ninjas dropped down. She immediately flew into a high kick that knocked the one behind her down. Before Mikaela could turn, one tackled her and sent the canister flying out of her hand. She bared her teeth and reared her head back before smashing it into her opponents face. Taking advantage of him being stunned, she bunched her legs up and planted her feet onto his stomach before pushing, sending him flying off of her. She jumped off the ground and drew out a kusarigama (a sickle like weapon that has a chain attached to it), smacking the ninja across the head with the handle. Mikaela turned from him and her eyes darted around the alley. She noted the hockey person was taking down the other two but her eyes locked onto the fourth as they grabbed the canister and ran. Cursing, she took off after them; Mikaela needed to get that ooze to Donnie! She bolted around the corner, swinging the chain on her weapon before releasing it, sending it flying towards the Foot ninja's leg. Before they could even realize what happened, she pulled hard and sent them to the ground. She continued to run up to them as they got up and withdrew their sword, and they clashed together.

Mikaela danced to the side as the ninja's weapon sliced through the air of where she had just been. She took an opportunity to try and get her own hit in but was parried. She dropped down while spinning with her legs out, forcing the ninja to the ground again. Trying to finish the fight quickly, Mikaela grabbed onto his head and smashed it against the ground, effectively knocking them out cold. She stood up as the hockey person jetted around the corner before stopping and taking in the site. Mikaela ignored him as she looked for the ooze and found it at the entrance of the alley.

However, Mikaela cursed for the second time that night when a police cruiser parked right beside where it lay and flashed its light as the officers within took in the sight. She spun on her heel and took off while grabbing the arm of the hockey person as she passed; they helped her out and Mikaela didn't want to feel guilty if they got arrested.

She dragged them far enough away that she felt confident the police didn't follow them before stopping. As she bent over with her hands on her knees and caught her breath, Mikaela glanced up at the person. "So, I'm gonna ask again now that you have the chance to answer. Who the heck are you?"

The person looked in Mikaela’s direction and their muffled voice came out. She felt her eyebrows furrow and the person must have realized she couldn’t understand them. They lifted up their mask to reveal a man’s face. He smiled at her as he said, “My name’s Casey Jones. Can I get your name?”

She let out a hum, “You can call me April or Mikaela. I respond to either.”

He chuckled, “No last name?”

She smirked even as she looked up to the rooftops, planning on locating the boys and disappearing for a while. “Not yet. One is well known and the other has made my background classified. As such, no last name is for the best.” Before she could take a chance to take off, Mikaela watched as her brothers dived off the rooftop to land in front of her and Casey. She blinked incredulously at her brother’s actions; why would they do this? What, did they think she was alone? Even as she was thinking that, she felt Casey shove her behind him and, thinking they were aliens, tried to talk to them like they couldn’t speak English. Mikey played along and managed to get Casey to follow him as he circled them, thus allowing Mikaela to go and stand by Leo, Don, and Raph. Finally, Mikaela snickered and thus brought Casey’s attention back to her. “Casey, these are my as-good-as brothers. Guys, this is Casey Jones. He ended up helping me take down some Foot ninjas.”

Leo nodded at Casey before turning to Mikaela. “April, can you give me a run down of the situation?”

She nodded and motioned for Don to join them. Raph and Mikey formed a wall between them and Casey as she quickly explained the situation. “So after I finished talking to… my friends, I broke into TCRI. I got to Stockman’s lab and Shredder was there with this… ooze. Stockman modified it a little bit and then those two criminals that also escaped the police caravan were injected with it by Shredder. They then turned into a rhinoceros and a warthog. I dashed to grab the ooze during the confusion the two were causing while figuring out their new bodies. Was ambushed when coming to meet up with you and Jones decided to help me out. Police did end up getting the big sample but I do have this dart that held the ooze.” She said while holding the object in question up. Handing it to Don, she continued, "That's all that happened but I wish the police hadn't shown up or I could have given you a bigger sample."

You did good April. What’s the situation with your friends?” Leo asked.

Mikaela frowned and then sighed. “I promised to meet them either by myself at the docks or I would arrive with some of you. But they were promised to be allowed to meet you. I wanted to give you the option of how it goes down. We could all meet them at the docks, I could get them to the old lair, or we can bring them to the new lair. You're the leader, what’s your call?” Mikaela kept her eyes on Leo even as he sighed, his eyes sweeping across his brothers.

He sighed again as he made a decision. “Bring them to the lair. We’ll bring this Casey Jones there too. We’ll go through this conversation once so that we can focus on more important matters.” Mikaela nodded before disappearing from the alleyway; she had to retrieve some friends and bring them home.


	7. Chapter Six

Mikaela sat still on one of the shipping crates, now fully in her ninja gear to help her stay hidden in the shadows, as she waited for the Autobots to arrive. She had taken the rooftops here and, thus, was able to get to the meeting point before even the Autobots. She sighed quietly through her nose and closed her eyes; she relaxed the tight hold she kept on her senses and allowed all the different scents and sounds of her city to fill her nose and ears. Cocking her head to the side, she could hear the gentle rumble of three vehicles pulling up to the dock; showtime. Silently, she slipped across the crates to the fence and jumped over it before disappearing into the shadows just as Ironhide, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe pulled up with their headlights off. Mikaela lifted her hand and let the light hit it, catching their attention as she motioned for them to follow her to another location before darting towards one of New York's many bridges. She didn't let a sound leave her lips as she continued to listen for any sign of someone following them but found none. Eventually, the small group reached the new location and Mikaela turned to face them.

"I know this is weird to ask and I promise you'll get your answers soon but can you scan me and yourselves for bugs. I'll take you to my home when that's done," Mikaela said firmly.

"Alright Mikaela, but I hope your explanation is worth it," Ironside's voice said through his radio. A couple beats passed and then Ironhide spoke up again, "We are all clean of any trackers or bugs."

Mikaela let out a sigh of relief. "Good, I'll take you guys home then." She tapped on her watch and opened a line to Don quickly. "Hey, Don. We're all good up here, open the door and I'll be there soon," Mikaela said into the small Bluetooth (her comm to central command she had joked only a day ago).

"Big ten-four little sister. Jones is getting a little nervous down here with all us big scary aliens," Don't snickered. "Wonder how he'll react to your friends."

Mikaela let out a quiet laugh as one of the sewer grates lifted up, allowing the group access. "He's going to freak is what's going to happen," she told Don as she entered the pipe, the Autobots carefully following behind one by one. Glancing back, she noted that everyone was in as she continued, "You can close it up. Let our brothers know I'll be there soon." Mikaela frowned as a question popped into her mind; "Hey Don? Did anyone tell Father what we were doing?"

There was silence before Donnie cursed. "I got to go April, I'll let the others know you're coming back now. Dad!" That was all she heard before the line was cut and Mikaela shook her head fondly.

Glancing behind, Mikaela decided to give some context of the situation. "That was my genius big brother Donatello, he's the one that makes the most of our equipment," she told the Autobots hesitantly.

"You have brothers now fleshy? We looked through your entire history as Mikaela Banes and April O'Neil," Sunstreaker said snidely. "Guess what? We found no mention of these so-called brothers of yours."

Mikaela sighed. "You wouldn't," she said quietly, "No one except the Foot Clan, Shredder, myself, and Vernon know. Well, someone else now tonight but," she hesitated before continuing. "My brothers, my Father, and myself have worked hard to keep them unknown. Do to what they are, they won't ever exit the sewers unless it's dark out. I have followed their lifestyle as well, only on the surface long enough to go to school and keep my Uncle from being suspicious." Mikaela shook her head as she focused back on leading them quickly through the sewers. "Come on, let's get you to my home. Me and my brothers need to get going on stopping the Shredder again and this is just taking up time," she said briskly as she picked up her pace. She just wanted to get this all over with.

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She entered the lair with the Autobots just in time to see Jones charge at Master Splinter. She didn't even blink as Master Splinter whipped out his tail and knocked him off his feet before turning around, saying, "Huge rat, one. New guy, zero."

She heard Mikey and Raph laugh from Don's lab and joined in as Sunstreaker finished pulling in, the door closing behind him. "That was awesome, Master Splinter."

"My daughter, it pleases me to see that you are home," Splinter said to her before his eyes flickered to the Autobots. "Friends of April, welcome to my family's home. You may call me Splinter. It was the name bestowed upon me by a very young April."

Mikaela turned to see what the Autobots would do or say, and was unsurprised that Ironhide made the first move, transforming to his bipedal form. He glanced at Mikaela, a little bewildered before answering; "It is a pleasure to meet you Splinter. I am Ironhide, to my left is Sunstreaker and to my right is Sideswipe." Here Ironhide hesitated before continuing, "If I may, are you perhaps another species from space as well?"

Splinter stroked his chin as he stared at the Autobots, Mikaela moving to stand beside him; from this angle, she was also able to see her brothers and quirked the corners of her lips up. Finally, Master Splinter spoke, telling the three Autobots, "My children will explain everything to you. My daughter trusts you and so we shall too." He glanced down at Casey Jones, smirking and Mikaela gave him a quick hug as he disappeared back to his relaxation room. She smiled fondly before turning back to the four in the lairs living room.

"I should have said this sooner but welcome to my home. It isn't often that me and my brothers get to see Master Splinter kick other people's butt. I'd like to introduce you to my brothers and then we can get down to telling our story. And after that, me and my brothers need to track down the Shredder." She paused for a second before adding, "For the fourth time? Don, Leo, Mikey, Ralph! Would we want to consider this the fourth time we tracked down the Shredder in two days?"

"Why not Princess? It will be the fourth time we found him and this time we'll give him the butt-kicking he deserves," Raph answered her, smirking.

She smirked back, saying, "OK, the fourth time then." She looked down at Casey, still laying there as he seemed to reconsider all his life choices. "Alright, first of all, the rat was my father, or as we often call him, Master Splinter. This…" Here, Mikaela reached down and grabbed Casey by the arm and pulled him up, "...is Casey Jones. We just met him tonight. And now for my brothers, first I would like to introduce my brother Michaelangelo, we call him Mikey for short. He typically wears an orange mask and is the youngest of my brothers."

The Autobots blinked in bewilderment the moment Mikey entered the room, flipping over the couches and landing behind Mikaela to her left. "What's up my dudes? You're totally sick!"

Sideswipe blinked for a few moments answering absently, "We are doing fine." Then glanced at Mikaela, saying, "You are… is your entire family this strange?"

Mikaela quirked an eyebrow but simply continued on with the introductions. "Next, I would like to introduce the next oldest, Donatello. We call him Don or Donnie for short. He typically wears a purple mask and is our resident technical master and genius."

Don's entrance was much more subdued as he just exited the lad and walked over to stand behind Mikaela on the right. "Hello. You all are quite fascinating. I would enjoy talking with you all at a later date."

The Autobots seemed to be in shock so Mikaela decided to continue with her introductions. "Then there is Raphael. We refer to him as Raph for short. He wears red and is the resident hot head. And a very violent teddy bear," she said cheekily.

"Watch it Princess," Raph growled, taking a playful swipe at her that she dodged, cackling. Raph's gaze then went to the Autobots as he settled in front of Mikaela and to her left. "So you're the tin cans April's been working with."

Sunstreaker narrowed his eyes then, speaking up for the first time since they had joined up with Mikaela, "Watch who you're calling tin can, fleshy."

Raph snorted and rolled his eyes but let Mikaela finish her introduction. "Finally, we have our big brother Leonardo. He is called Leo for short. He wears blue and is our leader. We make our own decisions but when it comes to the one we all listen too, even if grudgingly, it's Leo."

Like Donnie, Leo calmly walked out of the lab and to Mikaela, settling in front of her to her right. Mikaela felt her mouth quirk up into a half grin; these boys were so protective sometimes. Leo let his gaze flick over each Autobot before resting on Ironhide. "I welcome you. I am guessing you are Ironhide, the one to your left is Sunstreaker, and the one to your right is Sideswipe."

Ironhide's eyes seemed to tighten as Leo guessed each of them correctly. "Mikaela, I assumed you had only told them bits and pieces about us. How much did you tell them?"

Mikaela stayed silent; even if Ironhide had addressed her, this was Leo's territory and she was leaving the decision to him. " _ April _ ," Leo stressed Mikaela's original name, "has told us everything about you that would be detrimental to us eluding each of you. As such, that includes how to identify you all."

Sunstreaker snarled out, "Why you doing the talking now, little boy blue? Mikaela can't speak for herself?"

"I can speak for myself perfectly well," Mikalea informed Sunny, "However, as I said, Leo is our leader. We follow his lead."

Sunny snorted, "Wow fleshy, didn't take you for someone who would roll over like a dog." Ironhide, eyes still on Leo, gently smacked Sumstreaker in retaliation.

Mikaela smirked but stayed silent as her brothers snickered. “April, roll over like a dog?” Mikey said, still laughing, “You’d have a better chance of getting her punching you in the face than that.”

Leo, finally done laughing, coughed to bring everyone’s attention to him. “Now that we are finished laughing at that ridiculous statement, it would be in everyone’s best interest for us to finish our business here so my siblings and I can continue working to track down Shredder.” Here Leo paused, glancing at Don and Mikaela. “Actually, Mikey, Raph, and I can handle this. Don, April, I want you to continue working on tracking him down. Don, I’m sure you're itching to study the mutagen. Work on that and see if that will help give any clues. April, start combing through cameras and anywhere you can reach on the internet. You know where the Foot could be as well as Don.” Mikaela and Don, having snapped to attention when Leo used his ‘leader voice’ (as Mikey had dubbed it), each gave a short nod and strode over to the small lab. Time to get to work… again.


	8. Chapter Seven

Mikaela absently handed Donnie the chemical tube he asked for as she typed on his sets of computers in an attempt to find any sign of what the Shredder's next move was when they felt Casey storm past the two, heading towards the exit. She and Donnie shared a look before he sighed and gestured for Mikaela to follow after Casey. She flashed a quick grin before rushing after the disappearing man. "You're leaving?" Mikaela called out to him, catching up.

"If I can find my way outta here, I am," Casey told her. "You know, I was doing just fine tracking Bebop and Rocksteady. Then you came and t-boned my whole existence. So, I'm gonna go find them, or I'm gonna go down swinging."

"Casey," Mikaela (or was she more April right now) sigh, exasperated.

"No, you know what they say? If you wanna get your work done, don't spend your time at the… zoo…" Casey trailed off when the affectionately named Battleshell came into view. It was an old Tortuga Brothers garbage truck that Don had spent days painstakingly upgrading and tricking out. "Tortuga brothers truck?"

April sighed. "There's a lot you don't know, Casey."

He gave a hard swallow as he stared at the truck. "That's the… That's the truck. It was you guys." Casey turned to April, running a hand through his hair. "Who are you guys?"

April glanced fondly at the truck before turning back to him. "My four brothers have done a lot for this city than you will ever know, or they will ever take credit for. Not that I'm honestly much better." She stepped closer, a small smirk on her face. "But if you want to 'go down swinging'? My brothers and I hit harder than anyone." She calmly turned and strutted away, not waiting for an answer as he sighed while following after her.

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Mikaela listened as Don worked in his lab, quiet clinks of glass being caught by her advanced hearing in the otherwise quiet rooms. She sat on a couch, papers spread around her, and a computer precariously perched on her knee with an email open. Don had chased her out of his lab after she had sworn at his systems while threatening to dismantle them. She reluctantly pulled out the piles of tedious paperwork she needed to still do as one of the Autobots human ambassadors with not much else to do. However, it was uncomfortable to try and work on her paperwork when the three Autobots that were there to protect her were silently staring at her. Mikaela attempted to ignore it before simply feeling like she couldn't anymore. "If you have something to say, just say it," she told the three as she snapped shut one of the folders she had been combing through.

"Were you ever going to tell us about your brothers squishy?" Sunstreaker questioned harshly, glaring at her.

Mikaela returned the glare as she gave a harsh sigh. "I wanted to Sunstreaker, but my family's safety is first and foremost to me. So the moment I felt comfortable doing so? The answer is yes. But it wouldn't have been a moment sooner." She slides her glare towards the other two Autobots as well. "My family have all done crazy and dangerous things. In fact, I'm a human with a little  _ kitty cat _ DNA intermingling with my own after our first encounter with the Shredder. It's not truly noticeable to anyone but myself, thank goodness, but the point still stands. It's dangerous for people to know of my brothers because they and everyone we cared about are put in danger. Plus, we are ninjas. We are meant to stay in the shadows because that is our element. We were all taught by Sensei that no one was supposed to know of him or my brothers for their safety and mine.”

Here Mikaela sighed. “Given that it was that way since we were children, it is quite a difficult habit to boreal out of. So if you want to judge me for doing what I felt most comfortable doing until I was certain that the knowledge of my family was safe, then you can shove it up your aft." Mikaela was panting after her rant, eyes still glaring at her three metal friends.

Ironhide considered her for a moment before sighing. "Alright… we understand. I wish you felt comfortable enough to tell us sooner, but we understand."

Mikaela gave a relieved smile at that as a small weight lifted off her chest. "Thank you," was all she said as she turned back to her work.

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M- _ April _ glared at Chief Vincent from where she sat at the interrogation table in police headquarters. She still didn't fully understand  _ how _ Ralph had managed to convince her, Casey, Mikey, and Vernon to help him break into the police station to get the ooze, but he had, and her brothers were discovered, still free but only because her and Casey had taken the fall for them. Here, the two of them were, locked in the interrogation room with a chief of police who was simultaneously questioning them about the turtles and insulting Casey. If April were honest with herself, both things were making her a little angry. She had know Casey for a day at that point, but she could already tell he wasn't stupid. Where the police were still attempting to track down either the Shedder or Bebop and Rocksteady, Casey had already located the second pair. The only reason he hadn't seen them himself was because he had been waiting in an alley for them to exit TCRI. Then April had shown up fighting for her life, and he had been brave enough to step in to help out. So she sat and glared at the agent who gained her ire, plotting how she could exact revenge.

It was after Vincent left while slamming the door in Casey's face that April said something. "Don't worry about anything she said, Casey. She was just trying to get under your skin," April told him as he went and leaned against the one-way window. "It's a common tactic for interrogation and politics. People sometimes like to say more than they should when they're mad or uncomfortable."

"Nah, she's right. Been hearing that all my whole life. You know, I've only really ever had one goal?" Casey hypothetically asked her, a self-deprecating chuckle escaping him. "I wanted to make Detective in the New York City Police Department. Wanted to put criminals away, not just keep them locked up in cages." April sent Casey a soft look that Casey returned before it morphed into a smirk. "But working corrections, you do learn a few things. One, justice comes in all shapes and sizes. And two? It is  _ way _ easier to pick a cop's pocket than you think." Casey held up what must have been the chief's phone and tossed it to her. April let out a startled laugh as Casey softly said, "Make your call." April looked at him before standing up, rounding the table until she was next to him, and leaned over to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Casey," April and Mikaela whispered to him as she turned on the phone to dial the number she needed. So absorbed in the phone at that moment, she didn't even notice the soft smile Casey gave her or him reaching to touch the cheek she had kissed.


End file.
